Orioles pregame: Chris Davis making his first big-league start in left

First, Nick Markakis will return from his first stint on the DL tonight and by making his first start batting leadoff. (Read more on that HERE.)

Also, Chris Davis, who has played well filling Markakis' spot in right field, will make his first big league start in left field.

Davis played in 52 minor-league games in left, including 14 last season at Triple-A Round Rock before he was traded to the Orioles from the Rangers.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Davis was excited about playing in left. With Markakis back in right, newly acquired veteran Jim Thome filling the DH spot and Mark Reynolds playing first, the Orioles have to be creative to keep Davis' bat in the lineup.

"He’ll have his moments where there is something he can’t do that someone else will be able to do," Showalter said. "But he can do some things with the bat, and having Endy [Chavez] here, we can defend out there later in the game if it presents itself. The big thing is Chris takes it on as something he wants to be good at. A lot of people thought that’s where he’d end up in his career. I was talking to him yesterday about what an advantage it is for him to present himself as a guy who can play play first and right and left and right and third. He understands."

Other notes:

- Catcher Taylor Teagarden, who had been expected to join the team today, is getting another day of minor-league rehab in Class-A Delmarva, where he's starting at catcher and hitting third. The Orioles are trying to be certain that Teagarden, who has been out since spring training with a back injury, is recovered from taking a pitch to his hand. He could join the team as soon at Saturday.

- Showalter wouldn't specify who Tuesday's starter will be, but all signs point to Zach Britton starting that day in Minnesota. Britton threw seven shutout innings Thursday at Triple-A Norfolk. Left-hander Dana Eveland is another option.

- Injured 1B-DH Nick Johnson received a cortisone injection in his right wrist. He's still in Sarasota and isn't close to picking up a bat.

- Brian Roberts is still gathering information on his injured right hip before deciding his next step. He has been diagnosed with a right labral tear and received a second opinion from a hip specialist in Atlanta. One option would be surgery, which would likely end his season.